You're Family, Too
by Monochromatic-Stardust
Summary: Gildarts decides you're never too old to be adopted, and Lucy is in need of some family intervention. One shot after the events of the 7 year gap.


**Author's Note:**

Look, Lucy gives me feels, okay? Also, once again, no beta so if it's a mess, that's all on me. But, that being said, I really wanted this to be a thing because come on, that is one awfully sad mirrored story. Cana gains a father and Lucy loses hers? Lucy deserves a friggin' break.

Anyway, this was just a thing that happened, I'm a fan of little one shot stories. Helps get back into the swing of writing.

Since the return of the missing Fairy Tail members, frozen for seven years, the guild had returned to it's usual boisterous self.

Tonight was no exception.

Gildarts was still in town, attempting to bond with Cana, who pretended she didn't appreciate the attention, never mind the small smile on her face.

Natsu and Gray were fighting again, Levy flanked by Jet and Droy as she tried to speak to Gajeel.

Erza sat at the bar eating her cake, speaking to the Strauss sisters, Elfman argued with Evergreen. Freed, Bickslow, and Laxus sat at booth, a comfortable banter.

Wendy was talking to Reedus while the Exceeds were caught up in their own antics. Macao and Wakaba were taking great amusement out of Cana's predicament, while Bisca and Alzack were gently teasing Romeo.

Makarov was sitting on top of the bar next to Gildarts, arms crossed and observing his children.

His quiet, thoughtful hum was heard by Gildarts, who turned his head towards the older man, "Eh? What's that?"

Makarov turned his head slightly, "Hm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about these brats. Then I noticed there's a face missing from the crowd."

Casting a trained eye across the room, Gildarts found a distinct lack of a sweet smile framed by golden hair, "No Lucy. I'm surprised Natsu hasn't noticed yet."

Cana had taken her father's distraction as an opportunity to get herself a barrel from which to drink, causing the man to just smile crookedly.

"Well," Makarov admitted, "I hope the boy doesn't notice for a while. I think she could use a little more peace. I heard today from Erza that Lucy's father passed away before we were able to return. She's only just recently visited the grave, and while it's common knowledge that the two didn't get on, I think she's still trying to adjust to the fact she's an orphan now."

Gildarts stood without a word, striding towards Cana. Makarov watched with no small amount of curiosity.

"Cana!"

The brunette groaned, "I just want to drink! I told you nothing had to change! Stop being so clingy."

Smiling slightly he scoffed, "Not the way it works, but also not why I'm here. I need you to make a couple calling cards."

Cana leveled a glare at her father, "I'm not giving you a communication card for me."

Shaking his head a little, "While not a bad idea, I actually want one for me and Lucy."

Genuinely startled, Cana sat up.

"Lucy? Why? What are you up to?"

Gildarts raised a hand in nonchalance, "A thank you, that's all. Thanks to her I don't just get to know you as Cana of Fairy Tail, of who I've always been proud, but also Cana my daughter, who I couldn't be more proud of. So, I thought I'd say thanks, by giving her an ace to keep up her sleeve. I owe her, after all."

Smirking a little bit, Cana nodded, "Yeah, that's fair. Two cards, coming right up."

A couple minutes later Gildarts was opening the door and casting his eyes about for the young Celestial Spirit Mage. Finding her sitting just a few feet off to the side of the walkway, the Crash mage smiled at the picture she made, hugging her knees to her chest and gazing up at the sky.

Walking over to her, he made sure to make enough noise to get Lucy's attention. Exaggerated groans filled the night air as he lowered himself to the ground, "Well this is cozy, eh, Lucy?"

Lucy just blinked a few times, eyes hazy as if she was returning to her body, before she smiled softly, "Too nice of a night to not take a minute to watch the stars. Sometimes I think I can hear the spirits when I find them in the sky. Makes the night feel less lonely, er, empty…"

Gildarts felt a small pang looking at the delicate girl. He'd heard her whole story, told by their guildmates. Lost her mother young, father had no time or affection for his daughter, cold and empty life till she ran away, found herself swept up in Fairy Tail and then there was the whole Phantom Lord debacle, seven lost years and a father's death to greet her return. Even Gildarts saw that as a pretty shitty hand to be dealt.

"Eh? Guess you'd know all about the stars, wouldn't you? Handy skill."

Lucy graced the older mage with a sweet smile, "Well, I wouldn't be a very good friend if I couldn't recognize them, would I? Look, there," she pointed at the sky, tracing the different constellations with a delicate hand, "Aquarius, Lyra, and Sagittarius. I have their keys. There is Aquila, the eagle. Pegasus, the flying horse. Hm, Cygnus, the swan. Oh! And one of my favorites, Vulpecula, the little fox. Haven't found them yet, but I will someday."

He had to admit, her knowledge was impressive, but he felt like he lacked the imagination needed to really see the pictures in the cluster of stars.

"You know, Lucy, I think you'll have them all some day," Gildarts mused, noting the flush in her cheeks from the corner of his eye, "and they'll be lucky to have such a good friend."

Lucy's cheeks turned a charming shade of cherry blossom pink as she ducked down to hide her face against her drawn up knees, "Mmm, I'm the lucky one. To have made so many wonderful friends."

Laughing, Gildarts dropped his hand onto Lucy's head and gently ruffled her hair fondly.

The girl, looking particularly tiny next to the man, sputtered, unsure how to handle this casual affection.

The pang returned to Gildarts chest at those wide, innocently confused and hesitant eyes.

As kind, loving, and affectionate as Lucy was with pretty much everyone, she still wasn't used to receiving this easy physical contact, this parental affection. She was used to comforting, not being comforted. Even among her closest friends, affectionate contact was minimal.

Quirking a small smile at the brown eyed beauty, Gildarts fished out the cards Cana had made up, "Speaking of friends. I owe you a thank you, little Lucy," he said gently, "Cana told me the role you played in her being able to tell me about our family."

Suddenly bashful, Lucy tried to wave the thanks away, "Ah! I didn't really do anything! Besides," and here her voice dropped to a quiet, sad tone, "Cana deserves...well, she deserves to have you look at her the way you do."

Giving Lucy his full attention, Gildarts shifted to face her a little more fully, "Eh? What look is that?"

This time, when she met his eyes, there was a profound sadness in her gaze, "The one that says you love her, you're proud of her, and you're thankful to have her. Trust me, as someone who won't ever get the chance to get looked at like that, well, I knew how important it was that she try. And you already loved her, she's Fairy Tail, just like you. All this did was give you the chance to love her more, give her a chance to really breathe, no more secret to weigh her down. And," her voice trailed off for a second.

When she spoke again her voice was soft, sad, and sounded so fragile, "I guess I hoped maybe at least one of us could get a happy ending. I even thought, after she told you, maybe I could reach out to my father too, maybe I could forgive him. Maybe he could learn to love me. But… I was too late. So now it's even more important that she gets a happy ending, because mine vanished in those seven missing years, no letter fixes what was lost."

Gildarts had forgotten what it felt like to get the wind knocked out of him, and he sat, stunned, for a moment.

 _Well, damn._

He could swear he heard the whole guild thinking the same thing, because what kind of fighter would he be if he wasn't aware that the entirety of Fairy Tail was peaking out of the doors, listening in to this supposedly private conversation.

Clearing his throat, Gildarts waved the two cards a little to draw Lucy's attention, "Well, you know, a man can never have too many daughters," he offered her the card with his likeness, flashing the one that had her name on it before tucking it into a safe pocket.

Lucy just blinked, her face an adorable mask of confusion and growing shyness.

Leaning back, Gildarts continued his lazy explanation, "I know you're feeling lost, and that I can't ever take the place of your real father, but you don't have to be alone. You know how Natsu calls me pops? Doesn't mean I can replace Igneel, but it does mean even now Natsu has a dad. Same way the old man is gramps."

Lucy stared down at the card, formless questions flying around her mind.

"See, now you've got an Ace in your back pocket. You need me, you just call. Even if it's just when you feel lonely. Cana thinks of you as a sister, I owe you a great deal for this chance."

Shaking her head, Lucy tried to offer the card back to him, "You don't owe me anything, Gildarts. I was happy to help, and I hardly did anything, really."

Gildarts chuckled, "You're really bad at accepting help or thanks, aren't you?"

Before she had a chance to retort, the Crash mage dropped his hand on top of her blonde hair again, this time just creating contact, causing Lucy to freeze.

"Listen, if it's too soon, think of me like an uncle, a cousin, whatever makes you feel comfortable. But as for me? Like I said, a man can never have too many daughters, and now you're one of mine. I'm not the greatest dad, anyone could tell you that. But I'll come when you need me, I'll be the bones you learn to sharpen your teeth on, you'll always have me in your corner, okay?"

He felt more than saw her tiny nod, "Because we're Fairy Tail, right?"

Gildarts raised an eyebrow, "We are, but that's not why. You will always have me in your corner because you are Lucy, my newest daughter. You're Lucy. Cana's sister. Natsu's partner. Friend to Erza, Gray, and all the others I've helped raise. You're the missing piece of our family puzzle. We didn't know we needed you until you showed up, and now we wouldn't know what to do without you."

Once again, he felt the tiny movement that was her crying more than he saw or heard it, felt it through the tenuous connection of his hand on her head, the trembling that comes when you try not to let your tears be heard.

Carefully Gildarts shifted his hand so he could draw Lucy's head to his chest in a hug, letting her cry.

He could only imagine her turmoil. It was a much more pleasant surprise to learn you have a family than it would be to learn you've lost the last of your family.

A quiet sniffle reached his ears, and her voice, rough from trying to be quiet, followed, "If I have your card to call for help, why do you have one for me? What help could I be?"

The rest of the guild was creeping closer, trying to balance their need to know with their need to not infuriate the owner of the surprisingly painful Lucy Kick.

"Well, what proud dad doesn't want to be able to show off his daughter? Besides, what if I see something like a Key? How will I know if you need it if I can't ask you?"

And then, with one sentence, every heart broke as Lucy's trembling, painfully hopeful voice whispered, "Proud, of me?"

Gildarts felt his heart break, could see the devastating looks on the faces of his guild, saw tears on Cana's beautiful face.

Realistically, he probably shouldn't have been surprised. Based off of what he knew of her history, of the type of man her father had been, yearning for his approval, to make him proud had likely consumed her life. And like she'd said, no letter could fix the damage done. It just left a hole in her heart, one that would never be able to be filled, because the person she most needed to hear these words from was gone, and never able to come back.

"Yeah, Lucy. Proud of you. I am so proud of you," Gildarts said quietly, "Gramps is proud of you, your friends are proud of you. The guild is proud to be home to Lucy of Fairy Tail."

Makarov decided now was the time to insert into this moment, to lay Lucy's fears to rest.

"Fairy Tail stands behind you, Lucy. You are not alone. Remember, while we cannot feel all that you feel, your happiness is all our happiness, your tears are all our tears."

Her head jerked up, tearful eyes wide as she looked to her emotional Fairy Tail guild mates.

Makarov stood in front of her, offering a hand which she took with only slight hesitation, "You grow by leaps and bounds, you achieve remarkable things. Don't forget, it was you who returned Loke to the Celestial World, you who challenged and swayed the Celestial Spirit King."

Cana crouched next to Gildarts, "You wouldn't let me give up, you fought for my dream when I was convinced I should just quit, you would have given yourself up to Phantom Lord, and you never once thought of running from any battle we've had to fight. What's not to be proud of?"

Lucy's lip quivered as she tried not to cry, and Erza ushered everyone else into the guild, firmly keeping hold of Natsu.

Gildarts, Makarov, and Cana smiled at her.

Lucy's tears spilled down her cheeks unabashedly, "Thank you...gramps. Pops. Thank you, Cana-nee."

The combined smiles could outshine every star in the sky.


End file.
